Keeping Secrets
by HomieGPoptart
Summary: Hermione has nothing left. No friends, no life. All she has are her secrets, her sacrifices. When an unexpected person arrives and discovers her secret, she must face the challenging task of living, trusting, loving again. Dramione
1. Chapter 1

It was a Friday night at a muggle pub not far from her house and Hermione was trying to drown out her life. She had been through a lot during and after the war, a fact which people seemed to overlook whenever they decided to sneer at her. By ending things with an abusive Ron, she lost her supporters. By leaving the country, she lost her friends. When she finally returned, no one liked her and they took every possible moment to remind her that she was worthless. Hermione Granger, Brains of the Golden Trio, was deep into shit ten years after the end. She had no life. Her own friends wouldn't look at her, wouldn't hear her out, wouldn't listen to what she had went through to protect them. When she thought that her life couldn't get any worse, someone that she never wanted to see sauntered in through the door of the pub.

"Fancy meeting you here, Granger." Malfoy sneered. She really didn't want to relive that part of her life right here. She groaned and glared at him. Even after ten years, he was still the looker that he was at school. And all she wanted right now was a distraction. He came over to the bar and plopped down next to her. After ordering a drink he turned to face her.

"So, what is the Brains of the Golden Trio doing getting shit faced?" Malfoy asked. She really had no reply. He didn't know. Voldemort had purposely kept them apart. They never got to get chummy and compare tattoos, He made sure of that.

"Sod off." She replied tiredly. She really didn't want to _talk _to Malfoy. Shag his brains out, sure, but not talk. She sipped at her drink, watching him. He did the same. They looked at each other in silence for an immeasurable amount of time. His eyes were different, she noticed. They were harder, colder, more guarded. She supposed hers looked the same. He looked drained in general. Even though his swagger was still there, it was evident in his face and his posture that he was tired. She looked no better. When she finally grew tired of watching him, she said so.

"Malfoy, look, I'm tired, I need a distraction. Can we go back to your place?" Ten years ago, she never would have said that. She never would have had the guts, but now, she just didn't care anymore. She noticed the shock on his face. He was obviously expecting the old Granger, the naïve one. She watched as her words sank in. He gave a curt nod and stood up. She also stood and was about to throw a few knuts down but Malfoy stopped her. He payed for them both and led her out of the pub.

Malfoy pushed her against the wall, kissing her roughly and mercilessly. She groaned, enjoying the violence. Fumbling with the door, he managed to get it open and she found herself pushed up against the other side of the door. Malfoy's hands were running up under her shirt, caressing her breasts, making her moan into his hot mouth. Ever the opportunist, he shoved his tongue in, tasting, exploring. Her hips ground into his obvious erection, earning a growl. He moved to sucking and nipping at her neck, the underside of her jaw. At the hollow at the base of her neck, he sucked and bit, eliciting a throaty moan form her. He ground his hips into her warm core and she scraped her nails down his back.

"...Bed...." She managed to get out before another husky moan escaped. Hermione found herself thrown onto the bed, Malfoy between her legs, looking down at her through clouded eyes. Malfoy's mouth found hers again and she reached up to discard of his shirt. She ran her hands all over his smooth muscles, scraping here and there. She undid his pants, pulling down his boxers and jeans in one fell swoop. He kicked off his shoes, firmly attached to her neck.

"You are wearing entirely to many clothes." He gound out huskily. Ridding herself of all clothing on her lower portion, she grabbed Malfoy's proud erection. Malfoy's eyes rolled back in his head. He was enjoying this entirely too much. She flipped them over, her wet heat hovering directly over Malfoy's engorged member. He reached up and roughly tore the shirt off of her head. She undid her bra and flung it across the room. Just as she was positioning herself, Malfoy caught sight of something that he never would have guessed would be on her arm. The Dark Mark. As a gasp escaped his lips, Hermione slammed down, burying him within her. Any thoughts of the mark on her arm was quickly forgotten. His gasp turned into a moan and he moaned louder when she rose and came back down again. He wouldn't stand for being the submissive one so he flipped them over. Hitching one of her legs over his shoulder, he began pounding into her. She loved this, it was rough, animalistic. Her hips rose to meet his on every thrust. She felt herself rapidly getting close, it was too long since she felt this kind of pleasure. Screaming his name, she came, hard. Never had she come that hard. Malfoy was still thrusting, and after a few more hard thrusts, he found himself shooting his hot seed into her. Collapsing, he rolled to one side to avoid laying on Hermione. She fell asleep rather fast after that.

When she awoke the next morning, her head was killing her. She groaned and sat up, which only made the pounding in her head worse. Searching for her wand in the mess of discarded clothes, she failed to notice Malfoy awaking. Once she found her wand, she relieved herself of her hangover. She heard the sheets rustling and Malfoy groan. Slowly, she turned, facing the man that had tormented her in her youth, and would now torment her in her adult hood. She waited patiently for him to remember their tryst last night. When his eyes widened then narrowed, she realised that she made a grave mistake last night. She inadvertently revealed her darkest secret to someone she had no trust in. He glared at her and cleared his throat.

"Granger.." He growled. She was certainly not looking forward to telling this man what had exactly transpired to make her the wizarding world's most hated witch.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where were you for the past two years?" She glowered. "Did you not see the paper after the Death Eater trials?" Her voice was quickly rising. He could only stare at her dumbly. No he hadn't seen the papers; he was detained in the Manor for a majority of the going ons. When he finally was freed from his prison, he didn't bother to go back and read the two years out dated news papers. He finally shook his head no. This seemed to set her off and she screamed and walked away. Malfoy just sat there, staring at the place she just was. He couldn't figure out for the life of him why she would have a Dark Mark on her arm. Time passed and he heard his front door slam shut, followed by the sharp crack of someone apparating, and he continued to sit there. When he finally gathers his wits about him, he got up and took the Floo to the Manor. He was sure that they would have a copy of the Prophet somewhere.

His search turned up fruitless. He thought about other places where he could procure a Prophet of that age and immediately Blaise came to mind. If the article was really as big as Granger said it was then Blaise was sure to have kept it.

"Blaise, I need a favour." Malfoy's head said through the Floo.

"What do you need?" Blaise sighed. He was used to this now. Malfoy had no qualms about stooping low enough to ask for favours. He had been relying on Blaise for a while now, especially when he was trying to get back on his feet.

"Do you have a copy of the Prophet from about ten years ago? The one with a main article on Granger?" Blaise nodded and told Malfoy that he'd be right over to the Manor. When Blaise arrived, he shoved the paper into Malfoy's chest and walked into the Malfoy kitchen. Malfoy unfolded the dusty paper and his eyes landed on the front page article.

_Brains of the Golden Trio a Traitor?_

_Rita Skeeter tells all_

_The once renowned witch, well know for her knowledge and selflessness has joined forces with the Dark Lord. According to one reliable source, she was seen "killing muggles and torturing wizards with the lot of 'em [Death Eaters]." To say that I'm appalled would be an understatement. Would Hermione Granger team up with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to destroy those of unclean blood? Why, I'm wondering as I'm sure that all of you readers are, did she not get killed on sight? It is a well known fact that Granger is not of Pure blood, so why in the name of Merlin, did You-Know-Who accept her into his ranks?_

_When the war ended, not to many months ago, most of the Death Eaters were rounded up. Granger was among them, and according to the statement Harry Potter gave, she had reportedly "fired spells at me [Potter], standing at the right hand of Voldemort himself. None hit me [Potter] but she was probably distracted. I [Potter] even heard a few Unforgivables come out of her [Granger's] mouth." While this statement seems false, it is coming from Harry Potter and is backed by another witness, Ronald Weasley. Apparently, a few months before the killing of Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, Granger began spending less time with her friends and more time doing something that her closest peers could only guess at. No one suspected anything because this was Hermione Granger. She was probably off doing something noble and for the good of the Order. When Dumbledore was killed, Hermione disappeared, leaving her friends and peers stunned. Where had their precious Granger gone? At the hight of Voldemort's power, it has been revealed that Granger was His right hand man, going solo on missions that even His closest Death Eaters could only guess at. Another question is brought forth at this strange turn of events, how does Draco Malfoy not know about his classmate being involved in such atrocious acts? According to the testimonies of several captured Death Eaters, Malfoy and Granger were purposely kept apart. When Granger was at the headquarters, Malfoy was away on a mission and vice versa. When questioned about Granger, Malfoy had no clue as to what the Aurors were talking about...._

What the hell?, he thought. He remembered being questioned about Granger but he never suspected that this was the reason why. If he hadn't seen the mark with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe what he had read. He read on, wanting to know more about what Granger was hiding.

_...at the trial, sever people testified against her, including former friends, Potter and Weasley, and other Death Eaters looking for a bargain, Carrows, McNair and Rookwood. The only thing that prevented her from going to Azkaban was the suspicion that she was the one who revealed the location of the Dark Lord's camp to Dumbledore and the surprising lack of evidence in any sort of murder or use of an Unforgivable. This is not backed by any actual evidence except word from Dumbledore himself. Instead of going to Azkaban, as I'm sure many of you readers agree should have happened, Hermione Granger was forbidden the use of her magic for a few years, and she never returned to the Golden Trio._

To say that he was stunned would be an understatement. He was rendered utterly speechless. He was also wondering what would prompt Golden Girl Granger to become an ally of Voldemort. What Malfoy really wanted to do now is dwell on it. After he tucked the paper into his robes, Malfoy kicked Blaise out of his kitchen and out of his house. He Floo'ed back to his flat and sat down on the couch in his living room, rereading the article over and over. What the hell happened to Granger?


	3. Chapter 3

She couldn't believe that she had revealed as much as she did. She scolded herself, realising that he never would have thought to look at old newsprints if she had not told him. And now, she knew that he would want an explanation. An explanation as to why he never knew, an explanation as to why he never even got a whiff of her scent at any gatherings, an explanation as to why there was never any evidence to the atrocities she committed, all explanations that she could not give. She realised that the answers he would come seeking would do nothing for his state of mind and reliving the answers would surely do no good for hers. With these thoughts in mind, she blatantly ignored the knock on her door, the green flash of her Floo and the owl that had all stemmed from Him.

She was in Flourish and Blotts a week after her last encounter with Malfoy, trying to find a book that she desperately needed on Potions. Next to the book she needed sat a book that she had only heard mentioned in passing. _Potions and Spells for the Darkest Wizards _contained everything it advertised. It was a very Dark book that was dangerous enough for most wizards to place it heavily protected rooms. Some say that it has a mind of its own, showing spells and potions that suited the reader's personality and needs. When she heard of it, Voldemort was conversing with Severus and Lucius about somehow procuring it. She was baffled as to why it was shelved next to rather harmless tomes, never mind the fact that it was even in Flourish and Blotts at all. She assumed that Flourish did not know that it was there, otherwise this section of the store would be completely warded. This led her to the conclusion that someone had placed it there, probably for another person to come and pick it up. Not passing up a wonderful opportunity like this, she snatched the book off the shelf and tucked it into her robes. She proceeded to the counter to pay for the potions book that she originally had come to get.

As she walked through the door, she noticed a man, dressed in the blackest of robes, watching her from the shelves where she found the book. She hurriedly left, without turning back. Her instincts that she had gained from years in service to the Dark Lord told her that she needed to be careful. The man that she had seen watching her was probably the man that wanted the book that was hidden away in her robes. She knew better, but she got the feeling that he was a Death Eater, but she knew that was not possible, for all Death Eaters had been captured a few months after Voldemort fell, right? Still, she knew that going back to her home would be dangerous so she decided to go to one of her safe houses. Technically, it wasn't _her _safe house but the occupant readily agreed that she could hide out there anytime that she felt she was being followed. She Apparated to Spinner's End, where Severus Snape already awaiting her arrival.

"Severus-" She started. He just shook his head and motioned her in.

"I'm assuming that you have, once again, managed to find trouble enough to set your infallible off?" He questioned. During her service to the Dark Lord, she and Severus had formed a close bond, much like that of a Father and his Daughter, of course, that was after they had shagged each other senseless. He never let her live down that moment of stupidity when she drank to much Fire whiskey in an effort to drown out her problems. What resulted was a very drunk and horny Hermione, who wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Uhm..Well, yes I have. Do you remember the book that the Dark Lord requested you and Lucius get for him?" She asked.

"_Potions and Spells for the Darkest Wizards_?"

"The very one. I seemed to have stumbled upon it in Flourish and Blotts." She said. He blinked at her.

"You never seem to run out of difficult situations do you? Let me guess," He began. "As you were walking out, with the book, you noticed a dangerous looking man glaring at you from the place you knew the book to have been hidden? Am I correct in this assumption?" She nodded sheepishly. He sighed. The last time this had happened, she ended up catching a wanted criminal but, of course, the Ministry failed to acknowledge her. Severus found her ways of getting into trouble amusing, most of the time, but his gut told him that there was more to this than either he or Hermione saw. Something about the creepy man obviously bothered her, more than the criminal the Ministry was after.

"I assume that you know this place well enough to know where you are staying?" He asked. She nodded and went to her rooms. They were situated in the basement, for the sole reason that there were no windows and that the earth that surrounded to basement seemed to negate magical energy. No one would be able to detect a magical signature from her if she was hiding down there. Quite a few of her clothes were already here, from previous visits, so she changed into casual Muggle clothes and summoned Severus down to the basement. The book was on the coffee table and she was looking at him expectantly.

"So this is the book? It's rather inoffensive. I would have thought that it would have been, different, more obvious perhaps?" He said as he sat down in the chair across from her. They sat in silence, each contemplating the book that was sitting between them. It was quite obviously a powerful book because they both could feel the Darkness radiating off of it. Severus was the first to break the silence.

"What do we do with it? Surely whoever you saw will want it, and in the case of this particular book, they will probably kill to have it in their possession." She merely nodded, contemplating where they would keep it.

"A few years ago, I would have put it in my Gringott's safe, but recently, there have been quite a few break-ins, even in the maximum security vaults. Perhaps, I should put it in that place I was telling you about a couple months ago? No one knows about it and it is heavily protected." She suggested, after a moment of thought.

"Before we lock it away, I was wondering if you would be up for, well, reading it? There is still much that we need to learn about Dark Magic if there is indeed an uprising." She knew what he meant. A few years after Voldemort fell; a new Dark wizard had risen in his place. Seemingly more powerful than Voldemort ever hoped to be, he made his presence known. The wizarding world waited with bated breath for him to strike, but he never did. Most people had gone back to their normal lives, forgetting about him, but a few, those who had dealt with the Dark before knew that he was biding his time. They knew that before long, the whole magical world would be brought to their knees. Countries that had been unaffected by Voldemort now had reason to fear this new power. Hermione nodded, giving Severus permission to look through the book.

A few tense minutes of silence later, Severus put the book down. What he had read obviously shocked him to the core for he was paler that Hermione had ever seen him. He stuttered out that they were going to need more than the two of them for a task as daunting as this and asked if her could perhaps involve his godson in the mess. Hermione knew that his godson was none other than Draco Malfoy and she reluctantly agreed. They were going to need smart and powerful wizards all the more with the discovery of the book. There was little doubt that the book was meant to get into the hands of the latest Dark Lord.


	4. Chapter 4

Draco stepped out of the Floo shortly after his godfather had summoned him, saying that he must come over immediately, that it was urgent. When he arrived, he immediately noticed Hermione sitting in Severus's kitchen. Totally baffled, he was about to ask her why she was sitting in his godfather's kitchen when the godfather himself came down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Draco asked. Severus motioned them to follow him to the basement. Draco's eyes immediately alighted upon the book and he paled.

"Is that what I think it is?" He asked, pointing a shaky finger at the book. Severus merely nodded. Draco paled further and started to back away. He wanted nothing to do with Dark Magic, especially after his time as a Death Eater. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind him, the distinct sound of a lock engaging echoing around the basement. Startled, he looked at Hermione, who was looking at him contemptuously.

"Where are you going?" She hissed. He gulped and shook his head. She pushed him forward and forced him into one of the plush chairs sitting around the coffee table. He blanched. This magic and the looks they were giving him were a bit frightening. He forced his fear down. He was going to face this like a man, not like a coward.

"Does the Order know about this?" He questioned. Hermione answered before Severus even opened his mouth.

"No, they do not, and they will not. If they were to find out, they would take the book and put it somewhere that they think would be safe. If they find out about this, the Dark forces will get their hands on this book." Draco gave a feeble nod. Severus looked at her with an odd look on his face. She glared back.

"We need to find out what they wanted this book for. Then we can figure out counter charms and potions. If we cannot figure out specifically what they wanted, we will have to get someone inside." Both Draco and Severus looked at her incredulously. Inside? Surely she must be jesting, they thought. Hermione froze them with a frosty look.

"If we do not know what they intended with this book, we may never be able to defeat this new threat." Both men were still incredibly pale. They spent the rest of that afternoon devising a plan on how to divide up the time with the book. They ascertained fairly early on that the rumours about the changing contents were true. This made their work just that much harder. The three of them were extremely drained and went immediately went to bed. Draco and Hermione slept in the basement while Severus slept in his usual room. As a precaution, Severus would sleep in the basement after tonight.

The next few days continued in a similar fashion, reading and taking copious notes, running to the bathroom to retch, and crying on the behalf of Hermione, when Draco had enough. He was desperate for answers concerning Hermione's Death Eater days so he finally confronted her.

"Hermione. Tell me what happened all those years ago." He demanded. She didn't notice that he used her first name.

"No." She replied curtly.

"Yes."

"No."

"Tell me." He ground out. She glared at him. He decided to push a bit more.

"I couldn't have been that bad." He taunted. "I mean really, what did you do?" She glared at him, more ferociously than before. He was losing his patience. He knew one thing that would set her off.

"Aww, come on, what did big, bad, Death Eater Hermione have to do? Clean cauldrons?" That insult finally pushed her past her breaking point.

"You don't get it, do you Malfoy! Yes you were a Death Eater, but you never had to do what I had to do! You never had to get innocent blood on your hands to save your ungrateful friends!" She screamed at him, tears pouring down her face. She couldn't stand his taunting. "You never had to see the absolute terror in another person's eyes when they realise that they are no longer in control of their lives! When they realise that the person who is in control isn't intending for them to see the next day! You don't know what it's like to watch children, babies; crying, begging, pleading for their parents after they have just watched them die! Do you know what that does to a person's psyche? To watch people not much different than yourself suffer the worst possible agony? I wanted to go to Azkaban... I wanted to die... I want to be shown some justice for what I've done!"

"But...The paper.....It said that there wasn't enough evidence to convict you." He spluttered. This was not what he expected.

"When you are as...valuable? Yes, valuable, as I was, you are forced to learn how to eradicate any sort of incriminating evidence. That includes magical presences and memories of those who accompanied you." She whispered. She never intended to reveal that much and he obviously hadn't intended to receive that much. He sat there stunned as she ran out of the basement and into Severus's room.

"Well done, Draco." Severus sneered at him, when he came down. He knew why she had been there. He knew what she had to do and he felt for her. Someone her age shouldn't have to do what she had done. And now Draco has gone and pushed her back quite a few steps in her recovery. Severus knew that her mental state was not the best after the war. She was almost as mad as Bella. It had taken him months of patience and hard work for her to begin talking to him. Draco would learn soon enough that taunting an answer out of someone was not the best way to gain their trust.

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A/N: All chapters have been reuploaded on Word (Just bought that today) So that most spelling and grammar mistakes are corrected. Author's Notes have not been added in, making the word count slightly less.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: The last chapter took place on a Wednesday, just in case anyone was as confused about the timeline as I was.

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The rest of the week passed in tense silence. Severus refused to interfere with Hermione and Draco's strange relationship. What they found in the book only added to the atmosphere. Since no one in their little group had the strong desire to torture and or kill, the book showed them antidotes and defensive spells. Severus had only seen the Dark material that one time because he had been in a particularly foul mood. It's not every day that a social pariah on the run decides that your house is a safe haven, ultimately putting you in danger.

On Sunday, the tension finally came to a breaking point. Hermione couldn't stand the looks that Draco was giving her and Draco couldn't stand the silence that greeted his looks. After a rather tense breakfast, Hermione threw her hands up in the air and shouted at Draco.

"I can't take this anymore. Your sneaky looks aren't going to get you anywhere Malfoy! I need fresh air. I'll be back in a bit." As soon as she left the protection of Spinner's End, she felt like she was being watched. Trusting her instincts, she tried to lose her pursuer amongst the back alleys of the town she Apparated to. When that failed, she came to an abrupt halt, intending to face them head on. When she turned around, she just barely caught sight of the man from the bookshop darting into an open doorway. She slowly approached where she saw him run and quickly drew her wand. She rounded the door and was greeted with a wand pressed into her throat.

"Make any sort of noise and I'll kill you. I'll do worse than kill you; I'll use the Crutacius on you."She recognized that voice. It was one of the lesser known Death Eaters. Jugson she believed his name to be. She knew that he fought at the Department of Mysteries and that he escaped Azkaban, but not much else. She also knew that he would not kill her, for the master he was working for wanted to know the whereabouts of the book, that she was certain.

"Kill would you? Whoever you're working for now wouldn't like that. And the Crutacius? That's nothing, I could teach you torture spells beyond your wildest dreams." She was stalling for time. The wandless spell that she wanted to cast took a bit of thought to activate and she had to make sure that it did not backfire onto her. As she concentrated, she felt him grow tense. Something had obviously startled him.

"Fancy seeing you here, _Granger_. I was wondering when you would come out of your hiding place. It seems that we did not have to wait as long as we thought, eh Jugson?" She trembled slightly at this new voice. From her time with the Death Eaters, she knew what Selwyn could do. She could fight against one of them, but not both. She conjured up as much wandless magic as she could, hoping to distract them long enough to get away. _Incedo _she muttered, hoping to repel her assailants back far enough for her to make her escape. Her spell worked, simultaneously draining her and pushing the two former Death Eaters back. She broke into a sprint and before they could stand up, Apparated away.

Arriving back at Spinner's End, she was exhausted and frantic. If they knew where she was, they would surely know where their hideout was. They could not waste time in leaving the place. She rushed into Snape's study, the place he was most likely to be.

"We..must leave…now….Jugson…Selwyn….others on our…trail.."She panted, out of breath. He stared at her wide eyed. Surely they could not have found Spinner's End? He had placed the heavy wards surrounding the house himself. He vocalized this thought to her. She vigorously shook her head.

"No. Somehow they know our location. If we don't move now, we risk being captured or killed and the book would fall into their hands. You don't want that now do you?" He acknowledged her statement. They were in a predicament now.

"Where do we go then Hermione?" He asked. She thought for a moment.

"I know just the place. But we really must be on our way. I'm afraid that I did not part with Jugson and Selwyn on the best of terms. Get Draco and tell him to grab only his wand. Meet me at the back door in five minutes." He nodded and swiftly followed her out of the door, but not before placing heavy charms on his most prized books.

Hermione _accio_-ed the book and proceeded to the back door. She had to make sure that no one was out there for her type of transportation left her vulnerable to attack. Five minutes later, a bewildered looking Draco and a serious Severus were standing next to her. She held her hands out.

"Take my hands and protect me from attacks. We will be traveling my way and that leaves me open to well aimed spells." They took her hands, holding their wands at the ready, just in case a curse came their way. She walked them out into Severus's small back yard and slowly chanted a low incantation. Soon, both men felt a familiar pull at their navels, although, this time, there was no nausea and the ride was rather smooth.

Where they landed seemed to be the most desolate place on the planet. There were no other signs of life. It was silent except for the howling of the wind and the crashing of waves against the stony outcropping that they were standing on.

"Come." She said and walked towards a small blemish on the dusky horizon. They followed obediently, sometimes struggling on the unsure footing of the shifty rocks. Soon enough, they were standing before a nice sized manor house, boarded up and unwelcoming, but a house nonetheless. She pushed the door open and it let out a low groan. The inside of the house was surprisingly warm, much warmer than it appeared from the outside. Hermione clapped her hands and the lights in the main hall turned on and the fireplace in the sitting room roared to life.

"Please make your way into the sitting room. I will join you shortly." She said, stalking off into the deep depths of the house. They cautiously made their way to the specified room and found it to already be furnished with tea and scones. They sat down in two plush arm chairs in front of the blazing fire and waited for Hermione to return. A few moments later, she strode into the room.

"This will be where we will live for the next few weeks. There is to be absolutely no outside contact. Magic is to be used as little as possible. Do you understand?" She asked, fixing both of them with a glare. Severus knew when to trust her and now was one of those times. Draco, on the other hand, seemed a little put out by the idea that he was to use his magic as little as possible. He was just about to ask a very petulant question when Hermione spoke again.

"I know that not using magic is hard, Malfoy, which is why I will permit the use of wandless magic, for it is less traceable." Draco spluttered. He didn't know how to use magic without his wand! Not that he was going to admit it, but he was rather jealous of Severus and Hermione, for mastering the art when he was contented just to laze away his time.

"If you would please follow me, I will show you where your rooms are."Hermione said after a few moments silence. They nodded and stood. She led them down the corridor at the end of the entrance hall, down a stair case to their right, down another corridor up a staircase to their left, down yet anoher corridor, before she stopped in front of three doors.

"The room right there," She gestured to the end of the hallway," Is my room. Your room, Severus is on this side," She gestured to the right hand side of the corridor," and your room Malfoy, is here," She gestured to the left side of the corridor. The passage here is concealed by a number of charms, making these rooms almost impossible to find. I suggest that you do not leave this hallway unless escorted by me." She then turned on her heel and walked into her rooms.

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A/N: Yeah, Hermione was a bit aloof, don't ask me why. Oh, btw, for you that read these things, there will be an interesting development next chapter. Another thing, as I was writing, I noticed that somethings may contradict others that were said earlier in the story, so I try an offer an explanation in the story, if you are still confused, drop me a PM of a reveiw and I will most likely answer it. And another thing, I'm going to start keeping regular hours to prep for school, so there will be 1.) Chapters that come out at a regular time and 2.) Sometimes quicker updates. Although, as soon as school does start, I'm going to be swamped (all advanced classes, I know, smart) so updates will be slower.


	6. Chapter 6

When Hermione awoke the next morning, it took her a while to remember where she was. When she did remember, she sat bolt upright, breathing heavily. Had she put up the wards last night? She couldn't quit remember. She rushed out of bed, and faster than she thought possible, bolted out of her door, down the hallway, down the staircase that was now on her right, down the other corridor, and up the stairs now on her left. In her hurry, she didn't notice the two scrambling Slytherins struggling to keep up with her. Finally, she reached the front door and was relieved to find that, yes she had erected the wards. She sighed and her shoulders immediately relaxed.

"Do you mind explaining what the rush was?" Panted Severus. Both he and Draco had their hands on their knees and were breathing heavily. She looked bemusedly at them. Apparently they had not expected her to burst from her room and sprint away on such short notice. When she responded to Snape's question, her voice was light, teasing.

"Oh, you know, I just had to check that you were physically capable of putting up with me for a while. Which you obviously aren't." She teased, wagging a finger at the two of them. They remained in their crouched position for a few moments more before straightening out. What Draco did see when he looked at her was enough to make him blush. Even though they had done it before, he had not seen her clearly, in the light. Her skin was only a few shades darker that Severus's and it was so smooth and unblemished. What she was wearing did not help Draco's growing problem either. Scantily clad in a red lace, matching, bra and panty set, she was a vision to behold. The light that slanted in from a crack in one of the boards hit her just so that she looked angelic. Hermione noticed Draco staring at her and quickly blushed and looked down, then, seeming to realize what she was dressed, or not dressed in, she quickly flew back to her rooms.

When she came back out again, both men were standing in her kitchen, having a cup of tea, and she highly doubted that it was any good. She brewed her own kettle and chuckled to herself when she noticed that they were completely focused on her. It was easy moments like these that almost allowed her to forget her past.

"Today is going to be an easy day. I'm going to show you around the Manor and then I'll show you how to get to and from your rooms without me." She spoke. They both nodded. When they had all finished their tea and had a bite to eat for breakfast, she beckoned to them.

"Follow me." She set off, walking leisurely down the many corridors, pointing to a door and mentioning what the room was whenever they happened to pass something she deemed important.

"This here is the library. That is the door to the laboratory, which is fully stocked. This one here leads to the patio, but its always dreary around here, no matter how much the sun shines. Ooh! My favourite room! This here is just like the room of Requirement! We can look at it later. This door…." Once she had finished the tour, she began to tell them how to find their rooms.

"Well, first, the staircase which we first took down is located approximately 17 paces from the opening of this corridor. To find the next corridor, you need to recite the directions for making Wolfsbane, backwards, which will show the passage. To find the last staircase, you need to count the bricks. Ten bricks up from the odd coloured one is the first of seven bricks that you must tap with your wand. Two bricks down and six over to the left is the next one. Three diagonal from that…." They now knew how to get into their rooms without her help.

After the exploration of the Manor, the three of them settled in for a long session of Wizard's chess. Two losses and three wins for Hermione, six wins for Severus and seven losses for Draco, later, they headed to the corridor to go to bed. Hermione wanted to make sure that they knew how to get in, so she had them do it themselves once. They did satisfactorily and she grinned at them. Tomorrow, they would begin work, she told herself.

She woke up the next morning with a seed of dread in her stomach, rather than her usual butterflies. Something was going to happen today, she just knew it. The day progressed and nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Work was tedious at first because they were all tensed in the anticipation of something coming. They sat in an almost uncomfortable silence for a majority of the day. They sat down for evening tea, Hermione's version, not the awful concoction from earlier that day. No one minded the relative silence they sat in because they were all immersed in their own thoughts. Each one of them was uneasy, and the uneasiness had grown bigger since the morning. Finally, Hermione put her cup down and shot a contemplative look at the both of them.

"What do you think is going to happen? It has to happen soon doesn't -" She was cut off as a gutteral scream tore itself from her lips, similar expressions of pain coming from her two companions. They all looked at each other, grimaces twisting their features.

"What..is..happening..?" Hermione managed to gasp out. The pain she felt now, emanating from her left arm far surpassed that of any she had felt before. Neither Severus nor Draco seemed to be able to answer, their pain was the only thing they could think about. The pain kept intensifying with every passing moment until it finally became unbearable. The last thought that crossed their minds was that the only person who could inflict that kind of pain throught the Mark, was long dead.

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A/N: You lucky bastards, two chapters in one day! (I happen to be neglecting my other story because I got writer's block). There maybe some serious issues with this chapter because I am literaly falling asleep at my keyboard and I'm too lazy to go back and read through it. I know, there's not much H/D action right now, but there will be! -eventually-


	7. AN

A/N: Sorry for the super long hiatus…I got bored for a little while and then distracted with nerdy games.

I plan to start writing again soon and maybe I'll have another chapter (or story) up soon.

I was flipping through my email inbox earlier today and I realized that I couldn't even remember my own stories (I know, it's horrible). So, I went and read one and Man, was I a screwed up person…

Lol Anyways, I 3 all of you that alerted me ages ago and will still read this note.


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